Embossing tools of simplified construction including means compensating for manufacturing tolerances



Oct. 22, 1968 G. F. BREMER EMBOSSING TOOLS OF SIMPLIFIED CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING MEANS COMPENSATING FOR MANUFACTURING TOLERANCES Filed Jan. 5. 1967 1a 2 as M 22 76 7s 90 as FIG. I

78 44 INVENTOR 650/?6 FRITZ B/PEMER FIG. 3 M7 United States Patent 3,406,806 EMBOSSING TOOLS 0F SIMPLIFIED CONSTRUC- TION INCLUDING MEANS COMPEN SATIN G FOR MANUFACTURING TOLERANCES Georg Fritz Bremer, Albany, Califl, assignor to Dymo Industries, Inc., Emeryville, Calif a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 5, 1967, Ser. No. 607,518 6 Claims. (Cl. 197-6.7)

ABSTRACT THE DISCLOSURE In a tool for embossing indicia in an elongate strip of embossable material, the tool having a feed roll mounted in the body of the tool for advancing the strip in response to the operation of an actuating lever, a unitary spring having a first-portion coupled with the actuating level to bias the lever toward one of two operating positions and a second portion in the form of a unitary cantilever extention of the unitary spring, the second portion being coupled with the feed roll to bias the feed roll against the strip.

The present invention relates generally to embossing tools for embossing elongate strip material and pertains, more specifically, to such tools having a simplified construction with a minimum number of component parts and including an arrangement of such parts which will compensate for manufacturing tolerances in the dimen sions of the component parts and for manufacturing tolerances in the thickness of the elongate strip material.

A variety of embossing tools are presently available for establishing embossments in strips of embossable material in the fabrication of labels, signs, plates, tags, and the like. More recently, such tools have been developed for embossing various indicia on thin plastic strips formed of sheeted thermoplastic resins which are capable of being cold-formed to establish a contrast color relief enfigurement therein. Usually, the tools employ embossing means for establishing the desired embossments, a supply of strip material and means for feeding the strip material from the supply to the embossing means. The strip material is generally in the form of an elongate flexible tape supplied in a roll or coil placed in the body of the tool.

The increased popularity of such embossing tools has opened a market for embossing tools which could be offered for sale at reasonably low cost. and yet would maintain high standards of performance with increased versatility. Ordinarily, costs in the manufacture of an apparatus or device canbe lowered by reducing the number of component parts of such an apparatus and thereby minimizing the number and complexity of assembly operations necessary to fabricate a finished device. However, the reduction of the number of component parts is often accompanied by the requirement for closer tolerances in the remaining parts, which must now be more complex in configuration and must now serve a wider variety of functions, or by a reduction in the versatility or quality of performance available in the lower cost device.

It is therefore an important object of the invention to provide an embossing tool having a reduced number of component parts capable of economical manufacture and simplified assembly, yet which maintains versatility in operation and a high standard of performance.

Another object of the invention is to provide an embossing tool for embossing an elongate strip of embossable material with means capable of accommodating variations in dimensions of component parts due to manufacturing tolerances and feed means for advancing the strip material and capable of compensating fog-variations in the thickness of the strip material while still allowing a reduction in the number of component parts in the tool and still maintaining a high standard of performance.

A further object of the invention is to provide an embossing tool as described above wherein certain component parts heretofore found necessary for the performance of an essential function are now arranged for serving more than one such function to reduce the total number of component parts necessary in the finished tool.

The above objects, as well as further objects and ad- 'vantages are attained in the invention which may be described briefly as an improvement in a tool for embossing indicia in an elongate strip of embossable material having a given thickness between opposite faces, the tool including a body having means for carrying a supply of the strip material and embossing means at an embossing station, feed means for advancing the strip material along a path of travel from the supply to the embossing station in response to the operation of actuating means for actuating the embossing means, the feed means comprising a feed roll having a periphery for gripping one of the opposite faces of the strip material, means mounting the feed roll for rotation about an axis extending transverse to the path of advancement and displaceable relative to the body toward and away from the path in the general direction of the thickness of the strip of material traveling along the path, means juxtaposed with the periphery of the feed roll for establishing a gate between the juxtaposed means and the feed roll, through which gate the strip of material is passed to be gripped by the feed roll, spring means resiliently biasing the feed roll toward the juxtaposed means and into the path of the strip to establish a gripping force with which the strip is gripped in the gate while allowing displacement of the feed roll for accommodating the thickness of the strip material, and drive means associated with the feed roll and including portions displaceable with the axis of rotation thereof for rotating the feed roll through a prescribed angle of rotation in response to operation of the actuating means to advance the strip through a predetermined increment.

The invention will be more fully understood and further objects and advantages thereof will be made apparent in the following detailed description of an embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an embossing tool constructed in accordance with the invention, portions of which are cut away to reveal certain details of component parts of the tool;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 illustrating the component parts in another operating position; and

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawings, a hand-operated embossing tool constructed in accordance with the invention is in.-

dicated generally at 10 in FIGURES 1 and 2. Tool 10 has a housing or body 12 which has a general configuration adapted to render the tool easy to operate while being held in one hand. The tool is designed to emboss selected indicia in an elongate strip of embossable material such as the variety of thermoplastic resins currently available in the form of plastic tapes of various widths, one such tape being illustrated in the form of an embossable tape 14 supplied in a coil or roll 16 which is received within the body 12 through a door 18 in the body hinged thereto for swinging upwardly to open the body for the reception of the roll 16. Tape 14 has opposite upper and lower faces 20 and 22, respectively, defining a given thickness in tape 14 between the opposite faces.

The embossing of various indicia in the tape 14 is accomplished at an embossing station 26 wherein there is located embossing means shown in the form of an embossing die set 28 actuated by reciprocating actuating member (not shown) within the housing in a manner now well-known in the art. Die set 28 is one of a series of die sets located in th periphery of a selector wheel 32 which is rotatably mounted in body 12 so that any one of the series of die sets can be located at the embossing station 26 to emboss selected indicia in the tape 14. Selector wheel 32 is made .up of upper and lower disks 34 and 36, respectively, one of which carries the die and the other of which carries the punch of each die set. Disks 34 and 36 are interlocked with one another so that both will rotate together upon rotation of selector wheel 32.

Tape 14 is fed from supply roll 16 and advanced along a prescribed path toward the embossing station 26 by feed means 40 which comprises a feed roll 42, the periphery 44 of which frictionally grips the lower face 22 of the tape at a gate 46 established by means shown in the form of an abutment 48 integral with the door 18 and depending therefrom to be juxtaposed with the periphery 44 of the feed roll 42 and advances the tape in predetermined increments by being rotated in a counterclockwise direction.

As best seen in FIGURE 3, feed roll 42 is mounted for rotation about an axis 50 extending transverse to the path of advancement of the tape 14 by means of a drum 52 which is integral with the feed roll 42 and which extends through an aperture 54 in one side wall 56 of the body 12 of the tool. The drum 52 is supported by an axle 60 and is keyed to the axle for rotation therewith by a key 62 (see FIGURES 1 and 2), the axle 60 extending through another aperture 64 in the opposite side wall 66 of the body 12 of the tool so that the apertures 54 and 64 I will journal the drum S2 and the axle 60 for rotation within the body of the tool.

Embossing of tape 14 is carried out by displacing actuating means illustrated in the form of an actuating lever 70 which is pivotally mounted in the body 12, in an upward or counterclockwise direction to depress lever 70 and bring the actuating member which is inside the body vertically upwardly into contact with a portion of lower disk 36 and continuing such rotation until the actuating member actuates the die set 28 positioned at the embossing station 26 and an embossment is established in the tape. A drive means 72 is associated with the feed roll 42 and is responsive to the displacement of the actuating lever 70 so that tape 14 will be advanced in response to the operation of the actuating lever 70. Turning now to FIGURE 1, the lever 70 is shown at its starting or rest position. Upon the depression of the lever to its fully actuated position, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, a pawl 74 is moved vertically upwardly to engage the next successive tooth of a ratchet wheel 76 which is integral with the axle 60 so that the ratchet wheel 76 will rotate the feed roll 42 in a counterclockwise direction. Rotation of the ratchet wheel 42 in a clockwise direction is precluded during the upward movement of the pawl 74 by virtue of a detent 78 which resiliently engages a further tooth of the ratchet wheel. During the depression of actuating lever 70, a helical spring 80 is compressed so that upon completion of the embossing operation and release of actuating lever 70, the lever 70 is urged back to its starting or rest position by the spring 80 with a force suflicient to assure that pawl 74 will rotate the ratchet wheel 76 in a counterclockwise direction against the deterrent of detent 78 to rotate feed roll 42 and advance tape 14 through the increment necessary to index the tape for a subsequent embossment. The detent 78 further serves to accurately define the desired increment of rotation so that the tape is automatically indexed a length sufficient to accurately locate each successive embossment on the tape. The pawl 74 is mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the lever by means of a. stub shaft 82 journaled in 'a complementary socket 84 in the lever 70 and carries a short arm 86 extendingfrom the stud shaft 82, the arm 86 having an integral lug 88 which is received within the helicalspring 80 so that the helical spring not only serves to bias the lever into its starting or rest position, but also serves to resiliently bias the pawl 74 into engagement with the ratchet wheel 76. The opposite end of the helical spring 80 is seated on another lug 89 integral with the body 12 of the tool and has a cantilever portion 90 projecting forward and engaging the drum 52 which carries the feed roll 42. The cantilever extension 90 will thus exert a resilient biasing force in an upward direction upon the assembled feed roll, drum, axle and ratchet wheel to resiliently urge the periphery of the feed roll into the path of the tape 14. As best seen in FIGURE 3, the apertures 54 and 64 are made slightly larger than the corresponding diameters of the drum and of the axle portions received within the apertures so that a limited amount of lateral movement of the assembly relative to body 12 is permitted. By thus allowing relativelateral motion between the feed roll 42 which grips the lower face 22 of tape 14 and the juxtaposed abutment 48 which engages the upper face 20 of tape 14, the feed means 72 will automatically compensate for any variation in the thickness of the tape 14 being fed through the gate 46. Since the cantilever extension 90 will resiliently urge the feed roll 42 into proper engagement with the tape 14 in the gate 46, the dimension between the fixed abutment 48 and a line passing through the centers of the apertures 54 and 64 is not so critical as to require very close tolerances in the fabrication of the body parts and the component parts of the feed means. Thus, the arrangement which provides what may be characterized as a floating feed roll assures that the feed roll will grip the tape with suflicient gripping force to advance the tape through a well-defined, predetermined increment, and the gripping force will not become so great as to cause damage to the tape as it passes through the gate. The floating feed roll is particularly useful in tool 10 which is actually adapted to receive and emboss indicia upon tapes of more than one width. In such a tool where a variety of interchangeable tapes may be employed, there is a much greater likelihood of encountering variations in the thickness of the tapes and, hence, there is a greater need for some means for compensating for the variation in thickness.

It is noted that the helical spring 80 not only serves. to bias the actuating lever 70 toward its start or rest position, but also retains the pawl 74 in assembled relationship with the lever 70 and establishes a moment tending to pivot the pawl 74 into engagement with the ratchet wheel 76 so as to ensure positive engagement between the pawl 74 and the ratchet wheel 76 and accurate indexing of the tape. The helical spring 90 also provides the resilient biasing force for biasing the feed roll 42 into the path of the tape 14 and establishing the proper gripping force at the gate 46 by virtue of the cantilever extension 90 which -is integral with the helical spring 80. Thus, a helical spring which heretofore generally served the singular function of biasing the actuating lever toward one position now 5 serves to retain the pawl 74 in proper assembled relationship in the tool, to bias the pawl 74 into engagement with the ratchet wheel 76 and to bias the feed roll 42 into properengagement with the tape being advanced, thereby eliminating several extra component parts. The floating arrangement of the feed roll 42 also helps to eliminate the need for extra component parts which would ordinarily provide a resilient force upon the tape 14 at the gate 46 and allows the use of an integral fixed abutment 48 at the gate 46 in place of conventional spring biased rollers, leaf springs or the like.

It is to be understood that the above detailed description of an embodiment of the invention is provided by way of example only. Various details of design and construction may be modified without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

The'embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. In a tool for embossing indicia in an elongate strip of embossable material having a given thickness between opposite faces, said tool including a body having means for carrying a supply of said strip material and embossing means at an embossing station, feed means for advancing the strip material along a path of travel from the supply to the embossing station in response to the operation of actuating means movable between first and second positions for actuating said embossing means, said feed means comprising:

a feed roll having a periphery for gripping one of the opposite faces of the strip material;

means mounting the feed roll for rotation about an axis extending transverse to said path of advancement and displaceable relative to said body toward and away from said path in the general direction of the thickness of the strip of material traveling along the path;

means juxtaposed with the periphery of the feed roll for establishing a gate between said juxtaposed means and the feed roll, through which gate the strip of material is passed to be gripped by the feed roll; spring means resiliently biasing the feed roll toward the juxtaposed means and into the path of the strip to establish a gripping force with which the strip is gripped in said gate while allowing displacement of the feed roll for accommodating said thickness of I the strip material, said spring means including a unitary spring having a first portion coupled with said actuating means to bias the actuating means toward one of said first and second position and a sec- 0nd portion, said second portion being a unitary cantilever extension of said unitary spring and engaging said means mounting the feed roll to bias the feed roll toward the juxtaposed means; and

drive means associated with said feed roll and including portions displaceable with the axis of rotation thereof for rotating said feed roll through a prescribed angle of rotation in response to operation of the actuating means to advance the strip through a predetermined increment.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said actuating means includes a lever mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the body of the tool between said first and second positions during the operation of the actuating means and said unitary spring is a helical spring having a first end including said first portion whi'chis coupled with said lever to bias the lever toward'one of said first and second positions and a second end including said second portion which is a unitary cantilever extension of the unitary spring and which engages said means mounting the feed roll to bias the feed roll toward the juxtaposed means.

roll and mounted for rotation in the body of the tool, said drum extending transverse to the path of advancement of the strip of material and being displaceable laterally in the general direction of the thickness of the strip of material, the cantilever extension engaging said (1111111111 and urging the drum and feed roll toward said pat 4. In a tool for embossing indicia in an elongate strip of embossable material having a given thickness between opposite faces, said tool including a body having means for carrying a supply of said strip material and embossing means at an embossing station, feed means for advancing the strip material along a pathot travel from the supply to the embossing station in response to the operation of actuating means for actuating said embossing means, said actuating means including a lever mounted for pivotal movement with respect to the body of the tool between first and second positions during the operation of the actuating means, said feed means comprising:

a feed roll having a periphery for gripping one of the opposite faces of the strip material;

means mounting the feed roll for rotation about an axis extending transverse to said path of advancement and displaceable relative to said body toward and away from said path in the general direction of the thickness of the strip of material traveling along the path;

means juxtaposed with the periphery of the feed roll for establishing a gate between said juxtaposed means and the feed roll, through which gate the strip of material is passed to be gripped by the feed roll;

drive means associated with said feed roll and including portions displaceable with the axis of rotation thereof for rotating said feed roll through a prescribed angle of rotation in response to operation of the actuating means to advance the strip through a predetermined increment, said drive means including a ratchet wheel mounted for rotation 'with the feed roll and a pawl carried by said lever for recopricating motion during the operation of the actuating means, said pawl being mounted for movement with respect to the lever to operatively engage the ratchet wheel during movement of the lever in one direction from one said position to the other and to be disengaged from the ratchet wheel during movement of the lever in another direction from the other said position to said one position; and

spring means resiliently biasing the feed roll toward the juxtaposed means and into the path of the strip to establish a gripping force with which the strip is gripped in said gate while allowing displacement of the feed roll for accommodating said thickness of the strip material, said spring means including a spring having a firs-t portion engaging said pawl and coupled with said lever for biasing the lever toward one of said first and second positions and for biasing the pawl into operative engagement with the ratchet wheel and a second portion engaging said means mounting the feed roll to bias the feed roll toward the juxtaposed means.

5. The improvement of claim 4 wherein said means mounting the feed roll includes a drum carrying the feed roll and mounted for rotation in the body of the tool, said drum extending transverse to the path of advancement of the strip of material and being displaceable laterally in the general direction of the thickness of the strip of material;

said spring means includes a helical spring and the second portion of the spring includes a cantilever extension engaging said drum and urging the drum and feed roll toward said path;

the pawl includes a pivot mounted on the lever for enabling pivotal movement of the pawl with respect to the lever, and an arm extending from the pivot; and the first portion of the spring engages the arm of the pawl to bias the pawl into operative engagement with the ratchet wheel, said arm coupling the helical spring and the lever such that said spring biases the 5 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,091,319 5/1963 Sanders et a1. l976.7 3,155,215 11/1964 Avery l976.7 3,255,860 6/1966 Bremer l976.7 3,289,803 12/1966 Pederson l976.7

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

10 E. S. BURR, Assistant Examiner. 

